Leachate

At many municipal landfills, household waste is deposited together with different kinds of industrial waste. This means that the composition of leachates from landfills can vary widely depending on the waste deposited and the age of the landfill.

Landfill leachate must usually be treated prior to discharge to minimize the negative impact on the environment or on the municipal wastewater treatment plant. The presence of inhibitory or toxic compounds can disrupt the normal biological treatment step at a wastewater treatment plant, which is why localized treatment of leachate is becoming more common.

Leachate waters typically have the following characteristics:

Low temperature
Presence of inhibitory or toxic compounds
Low organic content
High content of Humic Substance
High Salinity
High concentrations of nitrogen compounds

MBBR technology makes it easy to design a multi-step process that allows for the development of unique micro-flora (bacteria, fungi, etc.) in the different process steps. This makes it possible to remove complex compounds while protecting subsequent nitrification steps from toxicity.

The MBBR process is easy to combine with a variety of post-treatment options as no sludge recycle is required.

Leachate effluent often contains compounds that result in scale deposits. AnoxKaldnes’ AnoxK™Z media is a solution for leachate and other wastewaters that have the potential for scaling.